Aid Available
Different types of aid are available for different programs. Not all students will be eligible for all types of aid. Federal financial aid is based on program, grade level, and financial need.
Aid for Undergraduate Programs
Based on your financial eligibility determined from the FAFSA form, BA and BFA students may be eligible for the following types of aid:
- Loans – Federal Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Parent PLUS Loan (dependent students), Federal Perkins Loan
- Federal Grants – Pell Grant, SEOG, ACG
- State Grants – check with your state’s Department of Education to see if they offer grants that you can use at Goddard.
Aid for Graduate ProgramsBased on your financial eligibility determined from the FAFSA form, MA and MFA students may be eligible for the following types of aid:
- Loans – Federal Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized, Graduate PLUS Loans
- There are no Federal Grants at the Graduate level.
Loan LimitsFederal Stafford Loans are based on financial eligibility and grade level. For a full academic year the levels are:
Dependent Undergraduate students:
- $5,500 - first year student
- $6,500 – second year student
- $7,500 – third and fourth year students
- Parent PLUS loan – up to the total cost of attendance minus other financial aid.
Independent Undergraduate students:
- $9,500 – first year, subsidized and unsubsidized
- $10,500– second year, subsidized and unsubsidized
- $12,500 third and fourth year, subsidized and unsubsidized
Graduate Students:
- $20,500 subsidized and unsubsidized
- Graduate PLUS loan – up to the total cost of attendance minus other financial aid.
Pre-graduate Psychology students and teacher certification students are eligible for $6,250 subsidized and unsubsidized loans per semester.
Types of Loans
Subsidized loans are loans where the Federal Government pays the interest on the loans while the student is enrolled in school. Subsidized amounts are set by grade level and financial eligibility.
Unsubsidized loans are loans in which the interest is accruing while the student is in school. You can pay the interest while enrolled on the unsubsidized amount.
All Stafford loans can be deferred while a student is enrolled in school. Repayment does not begin until 6 months after the last date of attendance and then is spread over a ten year repayment period. There may be other repayment options depending on your financial circumstances (see section on IBR).
There may be origination fees taken from your loans. Direct Stafford Loans have fixed interest rates of 6.8% (lower for subsidized for undergraduates) and PLUS loans 7.9%.
Unless students are in default on previous student loans or have reached the cumulative loan limits, the Stafford Loans are available.
Parent and Graduate PLUS loans are credit based loans. Parent PLUS loans can be taken out by the parent for a dependent student. PLUS loans can be taken out for up to the total cost of attendance** minus other financial aid.
Students have 14 days to determine if they want to return their Stafford loans to the Department of Education once they have been disbursed. Please notify the financial aid office if you want to decline or reduce any of your disbursed funds.
Private Loans
Goddard College’s financial aid office neither encourages nor promotes the usage of Private Loans. Federal Loans should be exhausted first. The Federal Truth-In-Lending Act has changed the regulations for private educational loans. The borrower must submit a signed self-certification form to the lender. The financial aid office will supply Goddard’s cost of attendance. Contact your lender or the financial aid office for a copy of the self–certification form.
Lenders must send disclosures at the following three times:
- When the student applies for the loan
- Upon Approval of the loan
- After the student accepts the loan.
The student has 30 days to accept the private loan. The Lender cannot change the rates or terms of the loan.
NSLDS
Students can check on their current or previous federal aid at the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) web site at www.nslds.ed.gov By using your PIN, you can get information on your loan or grant amounts, outstanding balances, the status of your loans and the disbursements made. It also lists who is servicing you loan if you need to contact them.
Scholarships
Goddard College offers scholarships which can be viewed online. The scholarship page is updated in early March and scholarships are awarded in June for the upcoming year. A student must already be enrolled or accepted in order to qualify.
Goddard also has a listing of scholarships for students to research. Students are also encouraged to research outside scholarships available to them. Some web sites include:
You could also try local, community or civic organizations. Payments can also be made through Vocational Rehab payments, employer tuition reimbursement, or VA payments.
Tuition Exchange
Goddard College participates in both the Council of Independent College’s Tuition Exchange Program (CIC) and ‘The Tuition Exchange” (TEP). Prospective students will contact their home institution to determine eligibility to participate in this program. Their liaison will send the completed paperwork to Goddard College’s liaison – currently the Director of Financial Aid.
New students – Once the student is accepted into one of our programs, AND we have the completed CIC or TEP paperwork, we can determine if the student will be eligible for the waiver. The waivers are awarded on a first come, first serve basis using the dates of paperwork received and the date of acceptance. We can import up to three new students per year, based on the budget for the program. Since Goddard is one of the few schools offering this waiver for Graduate work and the only low residency program, the spots get taken up quickly. If an undergraduate student is Pell eligible, Goddard reserves the right to keep the Pell (per agreements) and reduce the waiver amount.
Returning Students – Students that have received the waiver can continue with it until they complete the program (8, 5 or 4 semesters). Students need to contact their institution’s liaison to have the renewal paperwork submitted to Goddard yearly.
Monthly Payment Plans
Goddard College offers a monthly payment plan to cover your cost of tuition and fees. This is handled in our Student Accounts office - contact billing@goddard.edu for additional information.
**Cost of Attendance
The college determines the estimated full cost of attendance for students. This includes the direct costs of tuition and fees, as well as an allowance for books and supplies, transportation and miscellaneous expenses (including the cost of a computer). All determinations of aid eligibility are based on the cost of attendance factoring in the estimated family contribution (EFC) as determined by the FAFSA form, and financial aid received. Therefore students who wish may borrow the funds available beyond the direct costs to Goddard.
